#2 Choose a Web Hosting Plan

Web hosting is essentially where all of the files on your website live - so it's important to choose a reliable plan.

There are a few different ways to host your platform. We've broken down the difference between Hosted vs Self Hosted websites:

Hosted Platforms (more common)

Hosted platforms are typically an "all in one" purchase, meaning the platform provides both the software/design to actually build your website AND the storage that all your files live in (known as web hosting).

#4 Start Designing your Website

Now that you have chosen the domain, web hosting, and platform, it's time to get started with the design phase.

Themes are a great way to produce the fundamental style and identity of your website - this includes everything from your font design to your blog post styles.

One of the best ways to get started is to simply explore the various themes (free or paid depending on what you're looking for) and test them on your site.

If web-design really isn't in the cards for you, you may want to consider outsourcing a web designer to help bring your vision and brand to life.

Celeste Druve, founder of Viper by KCH talks about her experience outsourcing a web designer:

When we began, we each saved up $800 dollars to throw in. We spent it getting some contracts drawn up from a lawyer to incorporate and have an operating agreement. We (poorly) designed our first website but once we had some money we had someone redesign it and make us a pitch deck. Although we were a startup, we didn’t want to look like it so we tried to keep all our aesthetics well branded. Our initial branding looked way different than it does now.

We made our own website at first but it was pretty tragic so we ended up hiring someone. We got played by our first two graphic designers and that taught us to be way less trusting and smarter about money and contracts. That was a big lesson.

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Celeste Durve, on starting VIPER by KCH ($40,000 revenue/mo)
full story

Examples of Great Websites

What makes a great website? We've given you a few examples below!

Matt Griffin, founder of Combat Flip Flops does a great job when it comes to professional design and a clear CTA to buy his product.

Check it out:

The idea first happened in 2009 and my fellow Ranger, Donald Lee, registered our website name. We sat on it for over a year until my sister-in-law married Andy Sewrey.

Andy learned about the mission, started working on designs, and helped us bring the idea into a digital rendering form. From there we started floating images and messaging on Facebook. Followers gave us feedback and input until we had a design good enough to prototype.